CHAPTER NINE

Christopher

The day started quite slowly as I spent the first two hours lazing around the office. There was nothing much to do around here but I didn’t want to stay at home all day either. I asked Athena to hand me the files containing some of the recent projects the company had undertaken. I looked through the files for about an hour before I gave up and decided to go home. There was no use staying around here; I would just get frustrated. I called Athena into the office to pick up the files and went to say hi to Larry before leaving.

    “I wish I was this busy,” I said to him as I stood at the entrance of his office.

“That’s why you have me and over ten thousand staff members in different offices, just so you won’t have to be this busy,” he replied as he waved me into his office.

“You know, I actually miss the busy part of this business. The house inspections, the purchases ... everything. I do wish sometimes that I could do all those things again,” I replied with a deep sigh.

    “The day the great Christopher Graham decides to come into the field is the day you scare all our hired foremen off their sites. Can you imagine how it look to see one of the richest men in the city coming around to inspect? I’m sure the fear would make us lose some of our employees,” Larry said with an eyebrow raised.

“I doubt it. You are surely exaggerating now,” I replied with a smile.

“Was I?” Larry asked as he stared at me.

“No wonder Becca seems quite taken with you. You have a truckload of humor just at your disposal. I entered here feeling gloomy but see, you have made me smile in less than two minutes,” I said.

    “I’m glad she likes me. It would be a disaster if she didn’t find any of my jokes funny,” replied Larry with a grin.

    “I doubt she wouldn’t have. She has such an innocent and open heart; I just ask myself every day what I did to deserve her.” I said.

“You both deserve each other,” Larry said with a smile.

“Thanks, man. I just hope I don’t end up breaking her heart in any way,” I said.

“Speaking of breaking hearts, have you informed her of your net worth?” asked Larry.

“No, I haven’t. I know you advised me against keeping anything from her so that it would not come back to haunt our relationship but I simply have not been able to. You know I have told her everything, including all the exes I’ve and all. I even told her about Sophia trying to worm herself back into my life recently, but I haven’t had the courage to tell her about me,” I lamented.

“What exactly are you afraid of?” asked Larry.

“Becca is a very simple lady and I’m just scared that she might leave me if she finds out about me and what I’m really worth. I can’t afford to lose her. I try to bring it up at times, but even the way it is presently, we don’t discuss money. And I want to keep it that way,” I explained.

“I think it’s actually best if you inform her. You know at this point in time that you are not just keeping facts from her but are practically lying to her. She doesn’t know that the penthouse is not actually where you stay on a normal day and that your real house is even more palatial than mine. She thinks you are just a few millions rich. She thinks you own just a single office while you own several. And she thinks you drive yourself. Meanwhile you have a driver whom you keep away from her. That, my friend, is quite enough deceit. I know that in the past you keep your wealth hidden from your girlfriends because you felt most of them were just after you for the money. However, Rebecca is different, and you said so yourself. Please do the right thing as soon as possible. Discuss money now so that you two won’t end up discussing a heartbreak,” counseled Larry.

    “Thanks for the advice. I will do that as soon as possible. I’ll just wait till the weekend and travel down to Green Lake to see her and explain the situation to her. I just hope she doesn’t get mad at me,” I said.

    “Coming from you, I don’t think she should. Just remember your full identity can’t be kept secret forever. She will end up finding out and the best way should be if it comes from you,” Larry said.

“I’ll do that. Let me leave you to do your work now. I wouldn’t want to delay you unnecessarily,” I said.

“It’s all right. Anything for a friend,” replied Larry.

I left the office and headed home. I tried Rebecca’s number several times but she wasn’t picking up her calls. I assumed she was busy at work or was not with her phone.

    I went out later in the evening with Larry to play golf. Larry asked me for a progress report on the discussion we had had earlier in the afternoon and I informed him that I wanted to tell her face to face instead of over the phone. He seemed satisfied with my reason for delaying and we continued our golf.

I got back home and continued trying Becca’s number but she still was not picking her call. I was quite worried as I didn’t know any other person I could call. I’d only had a few encounters with her neighbors and such encounters didn’t warrant me having their phone number. I decided to calm down till the next morning when I would try the number again and see what happened. I didn’t want to start panicking over nothing.

**************

I woke up the next morning with a headache as I hadn’t sleep well throughout the night. As much as I tried to convince myself that nothing was wrong, I couldn’t do that successfully.

I dialed Becca’s number immediately after I rose from bed, but she still didn’t pick up her calls. I called Larry and informed him of what was going on. He advised me to drive down to Green Lake as soon as possible and find out what was going on. We were both worried and hoped nothing bad had happened to her.

I hurriedly took my bath and started preparing to leave the house when a message appeared on the screen of my phone. It was from Becca. I sank into the side of the bed as tears threatened to escape my eyes when I read the message she had sent.

“How could you have done such a thing? I thought you loved me. You said it several times and I foolishly believed you. I gave you my all. My heart, my body, my virginity. I hate you so much right now. You made me look like a fool to everyone. Were you scared that I was just after your money and that’s why you hid who you were from me? Is that what you really think of me? At least I know now that I mean nothing to you. Don’t ever call me again, and stay away from me, because I don’t want to ever see you.”

“She got it all wrong! She got it all wrong! How the hell did she find out?” I thought to myself as I tried to piece it all together. I called Larry, who was pretty shocked by the turn of events but still tried to console me.

“How exactly did she find out though?” he asked.

“I don’t know, Larry. I really do not know anything that is going on now,” I replied, frustrated.

“This is quite the plot twist. Just when you were prepared to tell her the truth and come clean, she suddenly discovers by herself? Who would have imagined something like that would ever happen? Looks a scene from a thriller romance,” said Larry.

“Sure does,” I replied in a low tone.

Knowing Larry the way I did, I was sure it was taking practically all he had in him not to tell he had told me so. He understood the importance of standing by me now though and assured me that all would end well.

“I can’t afford to lose her, Larry. I can’t. I will give anything to be with her,” I said.

“I quite understand your plight and I want you to calm down and believe that you won’t lose her,” Larry told me.

“Thank you for your advice, bro, and for giving me a listening ear,” I said.

“There are some things we should not be thanking each other for at this stage of our friendship and one of those things is this,” replied Larry.

    “You really are the definition of friends that stick closer than brothers. You are the best, Larry,” I said as I dropped the call.

I could not help playing Larry’s voice over in my head as he kept on saying that it was not too late yet and that I could still make amends.

    “How exactly do I do that?” That was the question that kept ringing in my head as I left my apartment and called Larry again to send my driver to drive me down to Green Lake. I definitely could not drive in the state I was in and I needed to get my thoughts in order before facing Rebecca. I stopped by the jeweler’s shop before leaving the city. There was a particular ring Rebecca and I had checked out when she was in the city and she had really loved it. I could remember laughing that day at her as she went on and on about how beautifully crafted the ring was. I had waited long enough, and now that I had found a woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, I didn’t think there was any need waiting any more. I might as well go ahead and take the plunge now.

    There was a strong possibility that Rebecca might not be willing to listen to me, but I was willing to try and see what happened at the end of the day. I would at least be certain that I had tried even if I failed. It was much better than having not tried at all. I was determined to make amends, and make amends I would.